First things first: I did the garbage bag thing, much to the confusion of everyone around me except for Kravi (a fellow poster here). It worked like a charm!! My wetsuit was on in seconds. I tried to have my dive buddy use it but she had less success lol. I struggled all class with a slightly malfunctioning BCD that was constantly leaking air (ick), but I didn't report the problem till the end of class because it was only a mild annoyance. We did the breathing without a mask for a minute skill and I kept blowing water up my nose. Can I breath out of my nose for that or is that a no no/bad habit to develop? We also went into the deeper pool and while I had no problems equalizing, my ears are very mildly sore. I was a little congested, could this be why?